The greatest challenge of future electrical energy systems is the fluctuating feed-in of regenerative energy and the associated requirement to ensure continuous availability and sufficient grid stability. The research and further development of energy conversion and energy storage technologies on a wide range of time scales from milliseconds to weeks, months and years is therefore of great importance for maintaining today’s security of supply. In addition to further technological developments, fundamental innovations are expected in particular through research into new materials and customized material functionalizations. Exactly this competence is available at the TU Clausthal and flows into the processing of scientific questions in the three research clusters “Energy Conversion and Storage”, “Material Functionalization” and “System Integration” of the EST. The current medium-term research topics are derived from two overarching guiding themes:

• Short-term stabilization of electrical power grids through battery storage systems
• Fundamentals of methanation

With their broad range of applications in the mobile and stationary sectors, high-performance short-term energy storage systems, especially battery technologies, make substantial contributions to sustainable energy systems. In this context, system integration under the aspects of grid stabilization and sector coupling is of overriding importance. The research aspects of battery reliability and safety, the dynamic behavior of short-term energy storage systems, grid stability through storage systems and sector coupling are addressed, taking into account the cross-cutting issues of cost and life cycle assessment as well as legal and economic constraints.

Project participations

GridBatt